Oct. 11, 2011
The Fall Series continues this week at the McGladrey Classic. Here's how PGATOUR.COM's experts sized up the top contenders at the Seaside Course.
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EXPERT PICKS
How it works: Our experts from PGATOUR.COM select the player they think will win this week's event by using a draft process -- no two picks can be the same. The player who wins the previous week picks last the following week.
SLEEPER PICKS
Of the players who didn't make the cut for our top picks, which have the best chance as sleepers? To see who the experts picked, click here. |
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| Expert Picks: McGladrey Classic |
Chris
Dunham |
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WEBB SIMPSON. It's not a big surprise to see Simpson in the field this week. He played this event a year ago and got stronger as the week went on (69-68-67-67). With the strides he's taken this year, don't be surprised to see him improve upon those numbers. |
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John
Schwarb |
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 | JONATHAN BYRD. I wanted to take one of the local boys and figure Byrd will be motivated to end 2011 as he began it, winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Last year at McGladrey he was T66 after a poor Rd. 3; this year he'll play better at home. |
| If Schwarb had the top pick ... Byrd |
Ryan
Smithson |
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BUD CAULEY. You know you've hit the big time when you've got your own Wikipedia page. Already one of the best iron players around. He's exempt into the q-school finals, but with two top-5s in only seven starts, look for him to kiss q-school bye-bye this week. |
| If Smithson had the top pick ... Cauley |
Brian
Wacker |
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PAUL CASEY. He's only 70 percent healthy he says, but he's headed in the right direction. He's also got some good momentum going with a win in South Korea two weeks ago and a tie for seventh last week. |
| If Wacker had the top pick ... Casey |
Helen
Ross |
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JOHN ROLLINS. He shot 13 under last week at the Frys.com Open and finished solo sixth so he's obviously playing well. Not to mention, Rollins held the first round lead a year ago at Sea Island before tying for 12th so that should give him even more confidence. |
| If Ross had the top pick ... Simpson |
Mike
McAllister |
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MATT KUCHAR. Kuchar ranks as the highest non-winner on the TOUR's money list this season. That speaks to his consistently high finishes. He's too good to keep out of the winner's circle this long. |
| If McAllister had the top pick ... Simpson |
Anne
Szeker |
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ZACH JOHNSON. The Sea Island resident finished T12 in the inaugural event last year. He's been having a decent year -- 11 top 25s. The only thing missing? A victory. I bet he ends his season on a high note at home. |
| If Szeker had the top pick ... Johnson |
John
Swantek |
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DAVID TOMS. Toms tied for third last year in the first edition of the McGladrey Classic. He's already picked up a victory this year at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. |
| If Swantek had the top pick ... Toms |
Lauren
Deason |
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BRANDT SNEDEKER. Sneds won The Heritage in nearby Hilton Head Island earlier this year for his second TOUR title. The Vandy alum has ties to Sea Island thanks to his instructor Todd Anderson, who teaches there. |
| If Deason had the top pick ... Snedeker |
Amanda
Balionis |
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RICKIE FOWLER. He had his first career victory last week at the Kolon Korea Open and one of his first tweets was that he was looking forward to his first PGA TOUR win now. Fowler is focused on claiming his first TOUR win and is confident after last week. |
| If Balionis had the top pick ... Simpson |
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| Standings after Week 2 |
LAST EVENT: Amanda Balionis jumped to No. 1 by picking Molder, who won at CordeValle. Five experts had top-10 finishers:
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| Position |
Name |
Wins |
Top-5s |
Top-10s |
Top-25s |
Money |
| 1 |
Amanda Balionis
Host, PGA TOUR Today |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
$997,533.34 |
| 2 |
Chris Dunham
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
$475,200.00 |
| 3 |
Lauren Deason
Editorial Coordinator, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
$228,228.00 |
| 4 |
Anne Szeker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
$227,845.83 |
| 5 |
Mike McAllister
Managing Editor, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
$192,038.21 |
| 6 |
John Swantek
Host, On The Tee |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
$168,372.50 |
| 7 |
Ryan Smithson
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
$161,335.00 |
| 8 |
Helen Ross
Chief of Correspondents, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
$71,419.56 |
| 9 |
Brian Wacker
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
$30,375.00 |
| 10 |
John Schwarb
Site Producer, PGATOUR.COM |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
$0.00 |
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